La Storia Della Arcana Famiglia
by SpringRiverImagination
Summary: This is about the secret serie of the Arcana Famiglia called the 'Cloak'. It tells you the story of its lonely leader Eileen Cozart and her attempt to become a 'true' member of the family. Currently on hiatus.
1. Prelude

La Storia Della Arcana Famiglia

Prelude: The Shadow Card; La Sombra

_Darkness surrounded me as I crouched on the roof of a house in the island city of Regalo under cover of night. Nothing seemed to be amiss in the city so far on my patrol, and none of my men had returned to report anything to tell me otherwise. We were the secret serie of the Arcana Family and I was its leader. Eileen Cozart was my name and I so rarely saw the light of day. The card I had made a deal with? The Shadow: La Sombra. My stigma was located below my chin, on the front side of my neck; I covered it with a red choker necklace, forever regretting my decision to join the family. _

_I shook my head unwilling to think doubtful thoughts while I was on patrol._

_My serie, Cloak, dealt with the night time affairs of the family such as patrolling the city while the rest of the family rested. Such a dark job wore on me so much I could not be certain I had __**ever**__ been out in the daylight. At times I wondered…_

_I continued to gaze at the empty street before me, an occasional man or woman rushing by. I crouched there on the roof trying to remember the last time I had taken a meal with the family. Nothing came to mind, and I was disappointed. _

_I knew that as the leader of the serie Cloak, I had to be responsible and set a respectable example for my men, but I could not see why having an occasional dinner or breakfast with the family was a bad thing._

_My mind buzzed as I watched a white cat cross the empty street. I truly desired to have company, to see the way the other members of the family worked during the day…_

_And I would. _


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

It was located at the very bottom of the Arcana Mansion, where not even the rats and roaches desired to go, where the only soul who visited often was the family's unsocial adviser, and alchemical master, Jolly. Yet even he, the most secluded of the family, never ventured further that going to his lab required. He never walked the long grim corridor; never smelt the thick looming scent of musk.

_It_ was the rooms and living spaces of the Cloak.

My sigh echoed through the empty living room. I was sitting in the heavily cushioned seat in front of the only fireplace this grim basement had. Our home had very little light, as we preferred to be in darkness. The fireplace and the candles in our rooms served as our only sources of light.

The glow of the fireplace illuminated a small portion of the room before it. Our living room was a rather simple space with expensive furniture such as velvet couches and polished wooden tables, and the expensive throne like seat that I sat upon, all gifts from the distinguished leader of the family, the Mondo.

To the left of the room was a door that led to the ever-winding corridors of the basement, the musky scent drifted under the door and into the room even now. Then at the very back of the room there was a dark hallway that led back to the bedrooms belonging to the members of Cloak.

I took a deep breath and inhaled the fire's crisp cherry wood scent. The scent and the warmth the fire shed, soothed both my aching lungs and my cold skin.

The members of Cloak had just returned from a hard night of work. One of the many buildings of Regalo had been accidentally set ablaze and most of Cloak had spent the whole night assisting in putting it out, though neither townspeople nor Arcana Family members saw them.

Behind me slept all of my men, exhausted from the long night of work. I felt sorry for them, especially the ones that had been burned by the flames.

I glanced at my badly burned left palm. The green salve that covered it glistened in the orange glow of the fireplace. The burn hadn't seemed so bad when I had gotten it early in the night, but as I continued to use my left hand it had gotten worse.

Ignoring the incessant stinging from the burn, I took another deep breath and closed my eyes. I would need to rest if I wanted to lead again at dusk.

_The sunlight was blinding._

_It was as if I had never seen it in my life, which I very well may have not. _

_The mansion courtyard was empty aside from me, as it always was when I went out for night patrol. The only difference? It was broad daylight. My eyes slowly adjusted to the sharp white light. _

_The very first thing I noticed was the bright green grass that covered the garden like a carpet. Its color burst out at me along with the rainbow of flowers that grew above it. _

_The courtyard was beautiful! More beautiful than I had ever realized!_

_I walked over to the garden and slowly reached down to touch one of the flowers. Its soft petals were a rich dark purple that smelled sweet, almost like the caramel that I so often fanaticized about eating when my night patrols led me to the baker's roof. I sat among the flowers and inhaled the fresh smell that differed so much from the scent of burning cherry wood. _

_It seemed like I was there for ages just enjoying basking in the sunlight and smelling the colorful flowers. I fell onto my back on the cushiony grass and allowed my eyes to drift closed._

"_Eileen?"_

_The courtyard echoed with the voice that seemed familiar to me._

"_It's almost time Mistress." _

_The second voice was not as familiar as the first, but I had heard it before. I refused to open my eyes and let my peaceful nap in the sun to be interrupted. _

_Suddenly someone touched my shoulder._

My eyes snapped open and my hand jerked up in a reflex to slap away the person who had touched me.

I was back in the living room of our serie-in the basement of the mansion.

With a quiet sigh I glanced down at the fire in the hearth that was slowly extinguishing itself. Behind me the members of Cloak had gathered, all wide awake after their restful day of sleep. I could feel them, each one tense and ready. I knew what time it was, I knew what was coming.

Night was falling over Regalo, night was falling and the members of the Holy Grail serie were returning to the mansion for the night. The Holy Grail, the serie responsible for the defense of Regalo, allowed for only a single two member night patrol, as ordered by the Mondo. That made room for the Cloak members to cover their territory and not be disturbed.

As the clock tower in Regalo struck the nine O'clock mark and began to chime, its sound just barley reaching our ears, I stood up from my chair and turned to my men.

Night had fallen over Regalo, and now Cloak would protect the citizens, and never allow them to see their silent protectors.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

That night's patrol was a quiet slow one compared to the night before. I lay taking a breather on the roof of a restaurant; the aroma of food still hovered around the building even though the cooks had long been in their beds. The time was well past midnight and my men were spread about the city, in the shadows, patrolling and assisting wherever necessary. My hand felt as if it were on fire, which seemed ironic considering it had been burned, I held it close to my chest as I stood up to continue my patrol.

Without warning my foot slipped on the roof tile and I hit the roof on my back, sliding down towards the street bellow. Instinctively I used my hand to try and slow my decent enough to get back on my feet.

My burned hand screamed with pain and I realized too late that I had used my left hand to stop my fall. I retracted it and dug my feet into the tile instead.

It wasn't enough.

I fell off the side of the restaurant roof at a speed that was bound to break something when I hit the stone cobble streets-if not worse.

Instantly I knew what I had to do. I'd done it countless times before; it was only a matter of concentration.

I closed my eyes and the world seemed to slow around me. I could feel the dark, cold night all around me.

"_Shadows….Darkness unveil!" _

* * *

"Hey! Hey are you alright?"

I slowly opened my heavy eyelids at the sound of the voice. I blinked away the fog at the corners of my vision until I could clearly see the night sky above me.

I was lying on a wooden bench close to the sea that surrounded Regalo, I could smell the salt and fish that the water held. A street lamp lit up the portion of the road I was on more than I would have preferred. Finally standing beside the bench was a girl with pink hair that she had tied into two ponytails; her large green eyes were concerned. I starred at her trying to place where I had seen her face before.

"Are you alright?" She repeated her eyes trying to read my face.

"…Yes…" I responded absentmindedly.

She sighed with relief, "Oh good!" She gave a small smile,"When I found you lying in that alley, I thought you were dead."

"Alley?" I shook my head as I remembered that I had used my arcane power to save myself when I had fallen off the roof. As always it took a lot out of a person to use arcane abilities, since a contracted card took its power from your life.

"Yes. That's where I found you, not even a block from here." Her face took on a slightly confused expression, "How did you get there anyway? What happened to you?"

I noticed the suit she was wherein then. My eyes widened, "You're from the Arcana Famiglia?"

She nodded, "Yes, my name is Felicita. Why?"

Suddenly I recognized this girl, my mind flashed with the memory of the young pink haired girl that had come to live at the Mansion. She was the Princess, the Mondo's daughter, and she was the leader of Sword, the serie that was in charge of negotiations and compromises with the ordinary citizens of Regalo. This girl who was probably one of the few who had been told about my serie.

I stood up off the bench and bowed to the girl, "Princess forgive my ignorance. I did not realize it was you." When I straightened myself there was a shocked look on her face.

"You're one of the family members?" She exclaimed her voice showing clearly her surprise, "But I've never seen you before, not to mention….well I just thought that I was the only girl in the family besides Mama…"

Ignoring the last part of her sentence I skipped straight to introducing myself, "My name is Eileen Cozart. I am the head of the serie Shadow. I apologize for not introducing myself earlier." A strange look took over her face when I had finished speaking. The look made me instantly uneasy and I regretted speaking at all, I had let my guard down around this girl-had I said something I shouldn't have?

"I've….never heard of that serie." She spoke in a murmur, "What…What does it do?" Her voice gained in strength with each word, "And why haven't I seen you at the diners for the serie heads before?"

Realizing that I had just given up the name of my serie to this girl I froze. Princess or not, if she had never been told about Shadow before, then she could either not be trusted or was simply not permitted to have the knowledge. I had given up the one secret I had been sworn to keep.

"Forgive me Princess..." I backed away from her slowly before I dove into the shadows of the buildings beside the road.

"Hey wait!" She called after me. I ignored her voice, not hesitating as I used a crate to give myself the height to leap onto a porch overhead and return to the rooftops of Regalo.

* * *

I barely made it back to the living quarters of my serie before the sun rose over the city. Waiting for me in the front room when I entered were two of my best men, also my closest friends, Antonio, and Carlo. Neither of them spoke as a made my way to my chair before the fire. Carlo, who sat on the floor to the right of the fireplace, poked the logs and threw in a new one to encourage the fire's small flames. Antonio straightened the white wool cloth that covered my chair for me before stepping back so I could sit down. When I was seated they both looked at me expectantly.

I sighed and pulled the white wool that I loved so much around my shoulders. I knew I had to tell them, but I also knew…that I wouldn't.

"I fell off a roof." I said simply, "I had to use the power of my card to get away unscathed so I spent most of the night asleep."

Antonio scolded slightly at me, "You shouldn't be so reckless. You could have killed yourself falling off that roof."

"I'm just glad you're safe Mistress." Carlo sighed calling her by the title she had gained among her men. He stood up and stretched, "Come on then Antonio, we should let her rest."

I sat starring at the fire as I listened to the sound of their footsteps disappearing down the hall behind me. I had to fix what I had done. I would go to the Princess tomorrow, and I would beg her to keep silent. If I was lucky she would, and if I wasn't…then I would face the punishment that was given to me.

* * *

**Thank you all for the views you have been giving me, it has been more that i could have ever dreamed for this fanfiction. Thank you so much!**

**And if you liked this fanfiction then i'm sure you have already seen the show or manga. If you haven't you should, it has a solid story and minimal inapropriate content (though there is some and the show and manga are ongoing)**

**Anyway I digress, thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 3

_**Due to windycrazy in one of my reviews pointing out to me, i'm changing the card's name to L'Ombra. Just thought i'd give you the heads up. Also if you were confused by the main charachter calling her serie 'Shadow' in the last chapter i'm sorry i should have explained, that's another name for Cloak. Those matters aside, please enjoy the chapter,and sorry for its shortness i was having a bad case of writers block...and a swelling finger. I promise to write more next time.**_

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Chapter Three

The night was still young as I walked down the alley where I had fallen the night before. I had very little hope that the Princess would be back this way tonight, but I had to try.

Thoughts of what I would do if I couldn't find her flashed into my mind. The truth of the matter was there wasn't much I _could_ do. The rule had been clear and strict, and the consequence had been even more spelled-out.

I looked up and down the street when I reached the place I had woken up the night before. It was empty with no sign of life aside from the potted plants on the sidewalk. I had known this would be the case, but I was still disappointed.

Just as I was about to head back down the alley my eye caught a boy down the street. He was standing there seemingly doing nothing but staring out to sea.

He had blonde hair and greenish eyes that had a thoughtful mist over them. I was interested in him immediately, but I wouldn't be talking to him. After all that would just be plain stupid after yesterday's events, even a regular-looking citizen couldn't be allowed to see me.

As I watched he sighed and turned away from the ocean scene to across the street…in my direction.

I ducked deeper into the shadows careful to move slowly and unnoticeably.

He was just passing the entrance to the alley I was in when he paused to look back at the sea. I crouched low to the stoned alley floor that smelt of garbage and rain water.

Just when I thought he might leave he glanced into the alley as if he had heard something though there had been no sound. I stayed very still staring straight back at him, daring him to say anything. I had gotten rid of much larger threats before, he wouldn't be any different.

After a few moments he sighed and rubbed his neck.

"You know…."

I tensed when he spoke. So he had noticed me.

The greenish eyes peered back into the darkness and he smiled mischievously, "It's kinda creepy to hang around in the shadows, someone might get the wrong idea. Like that you were a stalker…or a criminal."

"Noticing me is impressive." I responded in an undertone to keep anyone else from over hearing, "I take it that means you're no regular citizen."

"Well if you take it as that you'd be taking it correctly." He chuckled and I narrowed my eyes.

"Arcana Famiglia…."

"Right! My name's _Liberta. What's yours miss ninja?" He smiled a less suspicious smile._

_ I wanted to smack myself. It had happened ____again__. I had been discovered by Family member while trying to erase my meeting with another. I was such a foolish person! Not to mention a ____failure__ as the leader of Cloak._

_ One thing was certain in this situation. I could not allow this boy to know I was part of Cloak._

_ Straightening up I stepped out of the shadows-though somewhat reluctantly-and held out my hand to him, "My name is Emme." I said smiling as I used my fake name. _

_ "Well Emme. How would you like to take a walk with me? Trust me, its way more pleasant to walk on the sidewalk than it is to slink around in allies….erm…no offence." He gestured for me to follow him as walked down the street. I followed, what could be the harm in taking a quick walk with him? Then I could just say that I had to get home or something of that sort and ditch him._

_ I couldn't get into that much trouble._

_ At least that's what I wanted to believe. _


	5. Chapter 4

_**Ok guys here's your chapter! Be sure to tell me what you think and just enjoy the chapter over all!**_

* * *

Chapter Four

I had to admit, that night of "work" was a lot more fun than a regular one.

Liberta had to be one of the most…ignorant people I had ever met. Though that wasn't saying much considering how many people I had actually met—but the point still stood!

Not once during our few hours together did he ever notice an iota of strangeness about the way I acted or how I was oblivious to much of the most simple happenings in a city I lived in.

Still I had to say…I enjoyed it.

The first place he had taken me on his so called walk (it seemed more like a tour to me) was to a tall hill in the northern end of Regalo. From it he had showed me what the city looked like at night from a point of view I had never seen before.

The scenery was defiantly more breathtaking than that of the one from the rooftops I could give him that much.

After that it had been off to the area of the city I rarely visited in my patrols. It was what I tended to call the "nighttime district" of Regalo due to the constant bustle that went on in it even far into the night. The shops there stayed open well past midnight in order to get their share of the midnight rush.

Liberta's reason for taking me there was to show me a fantastic restaurant that was situated right in the center of the hubbub. He claimed that it served the second best food he had ever eaten.

I didn't bother asking what his favorite food was for fear he would divulge the information in a long boring conversation. Instead I just went along and tried to blend with the crowds he pulled me through—rather rudely I might add.

The restaurant he took me to was defiantly a fancy one. At least I was convinced it was, though….again…I suppose my opinion was just short of meaningless in that category.

There was a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, it glinted small flashed of light though its many crystals onto the pleased customers bellow.

To me it was the chandelier that was the best part of the restaurant rather than the food Liberta bought for us, and the tables that had been built to look antique. We had better furniture in the basement that at least I wasn't missing out on.

When we had finished eating Liberta took me back to the ocean, only it wasn't the place he'd met me an hour or two before. It was a small strip of beach by the water.

"What's the reason you took me here?" I had asked him attempting to keep at least a hint of exasperation in my voice. It was a hard feat to accomplish when I was looking at an awe inspiring view of the ocean water reflecting the lights of the nighttime district and the stars above us. It was as if there was a city of underwater creatures beneath the surface, I could almost see the fish swimming about in their own small streets much like the people above. I had been embarrassed by the childish thoughts so I hadn't told him that I thought the scene was fantastic.

He had seemed a little disappointed when I hadn't acknowledge the lights he had thought I would like, but not for long. He then took me to the last destination on the minnie adventure he had taken me on. When we reached it I was both shocked and slightly horrified.

Liberta had taken me to the gardens in front of the Arcana Famiglia's mansion.

Not wanting to alert him to anything strange, I had let him show me all the different colored flowers and had even pretended (almost unwillingly) to love the flowers. Then after a while I had insisted that my family would worry if I stayed out any longer.

"So you do have a family!" He had joked with a grin.

"Of course." I had tried to convince myself that it wasn't totally a lie.

"Well good! Then I won't have to worry about you slinking around in dirty allies anymore!"

"No promises." I had said it with a smile so that he wouldn't suspect that I actually meant that.

"Would you like me to walk you back?"

"No thank you, I wouldn't want my family to know I've been out all this time with a boy." Again, that was half true.

"Alright then." He had turned and walked towards the mansion waving to me over his shoulder, "I'll see you around Emme!"

The weight of guilt had hung on my back ever since he had said goodbye. Not just because I had lied to such a nice boy, but also because I hadn't been able to find the Princess. That would find a worse fate for my serie as a whole.

I was now sitting once again on my chair before the fire, my thick wool blanket forgotten on my lap and my eyes wandering from the fire to the room behind me. I was such a terrible leader, the worst. Always careless and always overconfident. I had used to think I was an excellent leader, but the recent events and my own actions had shown me different.

Did I even deserve to live in the light?


	6. Chapter 5

**_Hey everyone! I'm finaly back from my writers block phase! Sorry i took so long, but school really puts progress on hold. So anyway i hope you enjoy this chapter and i'll start working on the next one!_**

* * *

_Chapter Five_

_I watched from my chair as the rest of my men exited our underground home. I had told them that I was too sick to go out on patrol tonight; none had questioned it they had all simply agreed and went out to do their job. And once they had left I stood up to do mine._

_Dropping my wool blanket onto my chair I pulled the special thick jacket that Carlo had gotten me years ago over my regular 'Cloak' cloths. Then I braided my hair back and adjusted the necklace at my throat to assure myself that the mark was still hidden._

_Then I turned to the door leading to the corridor beyond our quarters._

_Once outside I glanced back in the direction of the stairs leading to the main floor then I crept through the passage that we normally used to get out of the mansion. There was silence and I was glad, hopefully not a soul would notice me slipping out into the city._

_Tonight I was taking things into my own hands. I was heading straight for the mansion and this time I ____would __succeed in finding Felicita then—if I was lucky—I would be reassured that she hadn't told a soul, after all if she had I would have heard about it by now…probably anyway._

_Getting to the mansion without being seen was a simple task and I had accomplished it in under ten minutes. It was at times like these that I appreciated better the agility that roof climbing had granted me._

_For a moment I considered taking the easy route and walking to the front entrance, but that was nothing more than just a fleeting wish that it was that easy; so I was about to walk around the side of the mansion to find an open window to take advantage of when I heard the murmur of voices almost completely disguised by the gentle gurgling flow of the fountain water approaching and instead of risking it I ducked into the thick bush that stood before the tree I had been crouched beside._

_The talking continued to grow closer until I could hear the words they were speaking, which turned out to be nothing more than senseless arguing. I would have ignored it if I had not recognized one of the two voices._

_Liberta was walking in the courtyard towards the mansions entrance with another boy. He seemed to be playfully (or rudely...it was hard to tell) insulting his companion by calling him strange things like "chickpea". The things he said were extremely humorous though the person they were directed at did not seem the least bit amused._

_I noticed as well that the boy accompanying him had a strikingly familiar voice though because Liberta blocked my already limited view from my place in the bush I did not catch a single look at his face so it was impossible to be sure._

_Before I knew it the two had moved on into the mansion and I was once again left alone in the courtyard._

_Only…I didn't ____feel__ as if I was alone anymore. _

_A cold presence surrounded me and though it did not make me shiver outwardly the sensation made me a tad more than wary._

_I tried to ignore it as I skirted around the side of the mansion walls, but I appeared to me that the feeling followed me and in fact it only got stronger when I landed lightly on the wooden floor of the house in one of the darker hallways. Now it brought with it a powerful feeling of dread and I couldn't help, but look over my shoulder as I made my way down the hall._

_But I had no time to be worrying about the invisible when I needed to be as such. Before long two Arcana members were turning around the corner to walk down the hall towards me. _

_I took a deep breath when I realized what I needed to do._

_Then I felt the darkness around me. It was cold, yet it held hidden warmth that though not comforting offered an escape from the sight of others._

_L'Ombra, the Shadow card. _

_Put simply it allowed me to become "one" with the shadows around me, move with them, and become a part of them. _

_This is what I did. I'd done it a thousand times before then, yet this time a strange thing happened. Instead of merging with the shadows I was surrounded by it almost as if it sought to consume me within it._

_"How are you enjoying the mansion Eileen?"_

_I spun around shocked to see who had spoken, but I was greeted by no human figure my eyes could only see a shifting form in the darkness that seemed to be the source of the voice._

_"Who are you?" I demanded my voice not showing even the slightest hint of the surprise and confusion I felt._

_"Aren't we in a hurry?" __The voice laughed and the shifting darkness drew nearer, __"I did ask you a question my dear. Or have all those days in the dark disturbed your sense of mannerisms?" _

_The fact that he knew of my home under the mansion was even more unsettling than him knowing my real name. Few of the family were allowed to know of the Cloak, most of even the serie leaders were in the dark, how could he know of it and speak so casually?_

_"Well if you already know my name I think we should skip the part where you tell me who you are. That's only polite. Am I correct?" I thought carefully on what I should say, I refused to give this jerk any more information than he might already know._

_"I do agree. I proper introduction is in order." _

_The shifting darkness took shape before my eyes and it seemed before very long as if a light had been turned on and stood shining on the tall form of the man before me._

_He wore a blue suit with an untied tie around his neck and a hat over his long brown hair; he had blue eyes that seemed to glow with a refined air. He was looking at me with a small respectful smile and I was staring back at him with a frown._

_"My name is Regale Petiole." __He bent over in a short bow. _

_"What is it that you want?" I bit back the bitterness in my voice._

_"Nothing short of your demise my dear sister."_


End file.
